i just found out that sidney poitier has a daughter named sydney poitier.
when i have a kid i'm going to name him brian zimmer.

read this article and think about just how much surveillance the east german stasi was able to do and how much information they were able to collect. then think about how that was done mostly by hand and on paper, and how much more thorough and efficient modern-day government surveillance is. don't bother trying to protect your privacy kids, it died years ago like a forgotten hobo.
http://www.wired.com/politics/security/magazine/16-02/ff_stasi?currentPage=all

a polish kid hacked the train local track control system with a modified tv remote and injured 12 people.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/11/tram_hack/

an australian sewage treatment plant was hacked, releasing millions of gallons of sewage.
http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,108735,00.html

stolen from bruce schneier's crypto-gram newsletter:
http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram.html

is it sad that i'm excited to have finally found and purchased gaffer tape?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaffer_tape

new technology that will brake (and in some cars steer) to avoid an accident.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/18/volvo-mercedes-and-honda-get-tested-for-collision-prevention-e/
it would be much less necessary if people actually paid attention while piloting their deadly hunks of metal.

"If you could hold a giant magnifying glass in space and focus all the sunlight shining toward Earth onto one grain of sand, that concentrated ray would approach the intensity of [HERCULES]."

http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/16/university-of-michigan-creates-most-intense-laser-in-the-univers/

for some reason when i ordered an espresso today they gave me one that was two or three times the normal size. thinking i had been blessed with good fortune i drank it all. now i've broken a sweat and feel like i can see each flap of a hummingbird's wings. i've already caught two flies with my bare hands.

apparently i was a medieval knight in a former life. i was told that last night in my sleep i said "live by the sword, die by the sword." i also occasionally sing.

check out dean kamen's new prosthetic arm. much more useful than a segway. check out the video of it in action.
http://spectrum.ieee.org/feb08/5957

here's the latest and greatest of computer art from around the world. oh how far we've come since dire straits' money for nothing.
http://www.news.com/2300-1025_3-6229090-1.html